1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures. More specifically, it relates to closures for resealing bags. Even more specifically, it relates to a closure for a bag having a generally C-shaped receiving channel and a hollow tubular member that fits thereinto. The C-shaped receiver has broadened shoulders near its apex to allow the folded over or lapped portion of the bag to fit therein. More generally, the closure of the invention may be used to join any two pieces of overlapped cloth, paper, or plastic. Two adjoining pieces of tarpaulin might be joined with ease. The fields of food preparation, medicine, and packaging all stand to derive benefit from the unique features of this invention.
Thus it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are myriad and the particular preferred embodiment described herein is in no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention may be applied is limited only by the imagination and is therefore not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned herein in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the unique properties of this previously unknown general purpose article of manufacture. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this invention is not limited to these fields or to the specific examples of potential uses presented hereinafter.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many foodstuff and other items come packaged in bags. In many cases, the contents of the bag are not consumed in one sitting. A need exists to have a bag resealer that can keep the material contained in the opened bag from the ambient atmosphere, to prevent the unused contents from spoiling or going stale. The present invention seeks to address this problem by providing a bag resealing apparatus that allows for the easy and substantially complete closure of the lapped over portions of the bag by compressing them between a C-shaped receiver and a tubular member that is insertable thereinto.
As will be seen, the simplicity and effectiveness of my invention is not rivaled in the prior art. A number of relevant patents were uncovered in a search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and they will be discussed hereinafter:
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,925 issued to Kim R. Sawatsky on Dec. 13, 1994 there is disclosed a bag sealing assembly wherein inner and outer clamp members interengage to hold together opposing sheets or the throat of a bag. The outer clamp member has a base portion which can include a card containing indicia, a magnet, or the like. This is unlike the present invention in that the cooperating surfaces of the clamping members are smoothly and continuously contiguous to one another when they are in the closed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,711 issued to June E. Song on Aug. 16, 1966 discloses a bag closure apparatus. In this device, unlike the present invention, the two clamping members are connected by a living hinge.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,252 issued to Lawrence A. Schrager on Mar. 2, 1993. This is a refuse bag support and is clearly unlike the present invention in that the cooperating channel member lacks the protrusion that allows the present invention to be removably attached to a cabinet door or the like.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,442 issued to Hugh E. Buck et al. On May 11, 1993 discloses a gripper. As in the Schrager patent above, there is no teaching of the protrusion from a clasping member that allows the device to be removably attached to a channel set in a generally planar surface.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.